Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is brutally honest about his back-and-forth shooting

Despite having a great performance and actually serving as a driving force in Oklahoma City's 128-104 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night, Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still not entirely satisfied with his on-court performances.

With a near triple-double of 35 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists, the 26-year-old finished the competition with by far the best plus-minus rating of anyone who achieved remarkable results. Playing time on the evening was +24.

Yet despite his objectively impressive performance, Gilgeous-Alexander still managed to humble himself when he reflected on the contest and looked back at the statistics.

It was clear this offseason that the seventh-year star guard wanted to become a stronger scoring threat, showing both his increased volume and, impressively, his efficiency in that area of ​​the game throughout the preseason.

Although his shot attempts are still high after three games of the regular season (currently a career-best 23.0 per game), his efficiency has declined somewhat, as he has dropped from 61.9 percent from the floor to 63.6 percent from deep during the preseason to 44.9 percent shooting from deep and 30.4 percent shooting from deep in 2024-25.

During his post-game media session on Sunday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was asked by reporters how he manages the “ebbs and flows” of his high-volume, low-conversion mixed event. The “Thunder Cornerstone” illustrated in a brutally honest way how “annoying” it can be from a mental perspective.

“Of course you want to make every attempt, but it’s part of the process. Success is not linear… I know there will be ups and downs. I also know how hard I work. If I go out, then…” When it comes down to it, I will trust my workGilgeous-Alexander said.

In the 36 minutes played, SGA was able to keep all of the evening's players on their toes in terms of both the total number of shot attempts (24) and long-range shots (8). While he finished the game with respectable shooting percentages of 45.8 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent from distance, he only managed a shooting percentage of 41.2 percent overall in the first three quarters of the game.

Honestly, it wasn't until the fourth period, when the fate of the game really hung in the balance (the score was 89-86 at the start of the final period), that the Thunder student finally found the rhythm with his shots like he wanted went 4-7 from the floor and 1-2 from distance, with his only long ball arriving at 4:33 to put OKC ahead by 16, ultimately putting the game a little out of reach.

Gilgeous-Alexander admitted after the game that it “felt good” to concede that crucial three-pointer, considering he “shot a few early in the game that I thought were going to go in, but they didn't was not the case.”

The Thunder star admitted his lack of success from deep may have prevented him from even going for what qualified as a game-winning basket in the past, but he's “trying to look beyond that” in the 2024 season. 25 while continuing to grow as an overall scorer.

Sunday night was a great example of his newfound confidence in the shooting department. Hopefully he continues to grow as the season progresses.